Winter Fell
by FlyingMapleBunny
Summary: It's been two years since Touko last visited the ferris wheel in Nimbasa City. Finally reunited with her sickly friend, Martin, Touko decides that there's only one logical way to make up for her two-year absence: drag him on an adventure across the Unova region.


Martin had been standing in the snowfall for exactly one hour.

He'd started off standing, at least; but the air was armed with a cold that fazed through mortal flesh and worked its way into your bones. It made them creak in a way eerily similar to ice itself…although, hadn't he always been frail like that? Abandoning his post by a street lamp- off, making room for the sunlight –he instead opted to take up residence on a bench, before the snow got too thick and blanketed it completely. Martin huddled and burrowed his face deeper into the scarf tied around his neck to ward off the chill. Without regard for his efforts, snow continued to settle gleefully atop his hat. He was thoroughly bundled into a swath of fabric that seemed hardly human- heavy white longcoat, mittens, and of course, his hat and scarf. From between the slit that these two latter articles of clothing formed, a pair of bright blue eyes glanced nervously to and fro. Behind him, a ferris wheel loomed, dormant and dark.

Martin had managed to hide every inch of skin from the elements. Except for his wrist. Occasionally, he pulled the sleeve of his jacket back to check the time on his Xtranceiver, gaze flickering hopefully towards the snow-veiled end of the cobblestone pathway as if expecting someone. It had been exactly one hour since he'd arrived at the park; though, perhaps more, since he sat here virtually all-day-every-day since coming to Nimbasa.

_ I wonder where you are now?_

The boy shivered. Winter was so bitterly cold in Nimbasa city. The air was thin. Every time he inhaled, his sickly lungs rebelled against the acerbic frost, with nothing but a muffled cough and a breathless feeling left behind. But winter was the only reason he ventured this far from his home in the first place. To tell the truth, he didn't mind it. He liked the snow. At night, it contrasted beautifully with the hundreds of glowing lights; the forest of skyscrapers and amusement park attractions which formed a thriving urban metropolis. He liked how you could always find what you were looking for here- the modern convenience was very alluring. He liked the local doctor, who only flew from the Hoenn Region to Nimbasa City during the winter to tend to his "unique" patients. Patients like Martin. Always sick, but for no good reason.

Martin especially liked the people here.

They were friendly- not at all like the level of society Martin was used to interacting with. He liked to refer to his family as a den of dragons. They jealously horded their fortune from the safety of their obscenely large mansion, which overlooked a picturesque bay in the tropics; opportunistic, vain creatures. He suppose he loved them, even if nothing more than on the "they're my family" basis. Money made the world go 'round, and didn't the rich know it. They had tentatively peaceful relationships with every blue-blooded snob on this side of Unova. That was the game. The big joke they all laughed about around the dinner table. Business and politics required good interpersonal relations, and so you went around being curt and polite to CEOs and spoiled children in the hopes that you could gain something from their capricious friendship. You took advantage of whomever you could in any way possible to make a profit. That was how Martin's family played the game; and if the dragons played the game, he was expected to follow suit. The littlest dragon had no say in the matter.

But not here. There was no straightjacket-stiff social conduct in Nimbasa City. No ulterior motives or reason to suspect the world was your enemy. You could talk to people- anyone about anything. Aside from the stunning view, that was why he loved the ferris wheel. You could simply sit down and enjoy the company of a stranger. It made him feel free, in an awkward sort of way; a bird just learning to fly, to put it poetically.

Martin had once made a good friend of his on the ferris wheel. That friend used to visit him every day during the winter. They always had the greatest conversations- lighthearted, heavy, it didn't matter –and he'd elicited more joy than expected from their brief pokemon battles. Somebody shy like Martin could appreciate others who were easy to talk to and get along with. The popularly christened "rich boy" checked the time for the millionth time that morning, blue gaze slowly tracing up the park pathway again in fear of disappointment. His friend- a she -had one day stopped coming to the ferris wheel. Once in a while, she called via the Xtranceiver. The calls had become increasingly infrequent as of late. He hadn't seen her in a very long time- two years, to be precise. Her last call had been erratic, short, and cut off by a NO SIGNAL screen partway through. She had mentioned that she was coming back to Nimbasa this season...but today was the last day Martin would be in the city before heading home and there was still no sign of her.

_ But she'll definitely show up…right? _

It was anticipation of this friend's arrival that had him sitting in the snow, freezing but unwilling to admit it. Martin never had very many friends. The rich did not make trustworthy or warm-hearted companions; they were liable to backstab and lie. It was in their nature. Martin was scared it was in _his _nature as well. That was why when his friend left (_to search for someone_, she had said), he hadn't done anything but wish her luck. It would have been selfish to ask her to stay, and perhaps even pathetic to say he'd miss her. She had goals and dreams, just like everybody else, and he didn't want to get in the way of those. Seeing her recent triumphs of saving the world and becoming the Elite Four champion on television made him happy. But Martin's world was a cold one. He felt starved for companionship the three seasons he spent away from the ferris wheel and its various riders. His pokemon helped, of course- Unfezant occupied whatever time wasn't spent in a doctor's office. But it was an odd, inexplicable feeling of loneliness. The only parallel he could draw was being introduced to a fire after wandering in a blizzard and suddenly having the fire snuffed out. He missed the warmth of having a friend; of simply talking to people about things that didn't really matter instead of the harsh _your future is to take over the business _lectures he received from his parents on a regular basis. It was just now dawning on him that his world was not only cold, but also full of monsters. Monsters who would gladly sell their souls if it meant a quick and easy dollar to be gained. Finding his own mood growing increasingly depressed, Martin tried to focus on something else. His friend's last message before he lost her signal, perhaps? The boy shut his eyes and tried to recall the bewildering conversation in its entirety. The last time he'd heard from Touko had been one month ago…

* * *

One Month Prior-

The Xtranceiver beeped loudly from under Martin's sleeve.

With a smile and slight wave, the boy bid goodbye to the hiker he'd shared a conversation with (Chargestone Cave sounded really amazing- he wished he could go there sometime) and stepped off the park walkway to check his alarmed device. Above him, Unfezant flew in tight circles, corkscrewing higher into the air with an elated trill. It was brisk out, but sunny. The light made the faintly golden tint to Martin's normally brown hair stand out and chased away some of the winter's bite.

The Xtranceiver's digital interface proclaimed a single name- TOUKO. Pleasantly surprised, the boy leaned against a nearby tree and tapped the screen of his communication watch to accept the call. Where on earth had she been lately? Last he'd seen on tv, she'd come out triumphant from the Elite Four challenge roughly a year ago. On a rare occasion, she'd call him and they'd talk for an hour or so like they used to. Martin liked hearing stories about adventures he could never go on. But those calls had abruptly stopped. This was the first he'd heard from her in ages.

The Xtranceiver's video mode activated, though the screen grew only slightly brighter than the dead black it was before. A burst of static exploded out, marring the voice amidst it.

"Martin? Martin, are you there?"

Martin's brow furrowed in confusion. He could only just make out Touko's form by the light of what appeared to be rapidly-appearing fire attacks somewhere behind her.

"Touko?" He echoed in a puzzled tone. It _was _his friend- the same as always, but considerably worse for wear. Smudges of what looked like dirt tracked across her face, and her clothes were tattered. Leave it to a child of pedigree to notice that first. Touko herself seemed tired and…wounded? A strip of cloth was fastened around her forearm, faintly red in the center. Martin's already expressive eyes betrayed immediate shock and concern, and he found himself straightening away from the tree he leaned on.

"Touko?! What…why…are you alright?" his tongue stumbled to form words that made sense. Bedraggled and drained, Touko still somehow managed to flash her friend a bright grin as the Xtranceiver camera attempted to bring her into sharper focus.

"Oh…ah, well…" she gave a stiff laugh and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, oblivious to the sounds of battle around her "-yeah, I'm fine! Just got myself into a little bit of a…ah…situation, is all. Nothing I can't get myself out of, of course, but- Arcanine, Flamethrower, quickly!"

In the background, Martin saw a huge orange creature leap into the air and breathe a jet of molten red into the darkness. A pained, inhuman shriek resulted. Martin didn't want to think about what could have made it. Skin crawling and heart racing, his eyes flicked back to Touko. The girl raked a hand through her tangled brown locks and skittered out of the way posthaste as a large rock suddenly hurtled past where she'd just been standing. Her expression sobered.

"I wanted to call and apologize for not being in Nimbasa lately…I'm really, really sorry, Martin. I promise I haven't forgotten. I've tried to go…but so many people want to battle me since I beat the Elite Four…it's a little ridiculous, actually. I haven't been able to leave the League area in months. So I'm on my way now," she paused to flinch as a thunderous roar shook the cave system she was currently lost in. Plumes of fire flashed like strobe lights in the distance. Something big was obviously fighting it out with Arcanine.

Martin was incredulous as he watched the battle in the background rage on. This was the sort of moment she considered calm enough to phone people?

"So you called me _now_? In the middle of _that_?" he took a second to let it soak in. "Th-…that looks dangerous a-…and you're bleeding! I swear, if you die on my account…"

Passerbys paused to glance at the boy. It wasn't every day you saw somebody yell at their watch. But Martin was agitated. He felt utterly powerless trapped on this side of the screen. His friend looked beaten, and what could he do? The Xtranceiver was pinpointing a location…the middle of densely-forested nowhere in the far left corner on the map. Great. Grin returning, Touko waved his worries away with a dismissive hand. It was covered in dirt, like she'd recently been digging.

"This isn't the dangerous way out. It's the stylish way out. There's a difference," she flinched briefly again as a second roar boomed through the cavern "-…primarily in the number of Steelix. Did you know that they really _can_ bite through boulders?"

Unfezant had alighted on an overhead treebranch, turned skeletal and leafless from the cold, and peered down inquisitively at the Xtranceiver screen. A soft _coo _echoed from his throat upon recognizing Touko. In opposition to his curious pokemon, Martin was starting to feel a little sick. No surprise there.

"Oh, hey there, Unfezant. You look stronger than the last time I saw you."

"Please tell me you're leaving that place soon…it looks horrible," Martin cringed as a massive silver tail crashed down less than five yards from Touko. Arcanine used it as a springboard and vanished off screen. An orange glow illuminated the cave seconds after. Touko seemed unconcerned by the ordeal.

"Don't worry about it. Elite Four champion, remember? I can definitely handle a few Steelix. I went this way because I wanted a challenge," her voice became a tease. "I just decided to call in case I get crushed before I find the exit."

"Not funny," Martin commented, tone wry.

Touko rolled her eyes good-naturedly. They were laden with sleepless shadows.

"You and Unfezant just better stay healthy until I get back to Nimbasa. I should be there in about-"

A rumbling cry found its origins troublesomely close to Touko's whereabouts. With a flurry of colourful swearing and pitched rocks, the Xtranceiver's screen blurred out into static oblivion on Touko's end.

_ NO SIGNAL_

Well, damn.

* * *

Martin had been staying healthy since that call. Or at least trying to- it was why he was wearing thicker clothes than he normally would during the winter. He was still weak. He still felt winded after pokemon battles, couldn't walk for very long without getting tired, and bruised easy. But he was warm…sort of. He had long since concluded that total comfort outside during the winter was a wonderfully quixotic notion.

The boy sat on the bench for some time with his eyes shut. At this hour of the morning, nobody else was in the park. Why should they be? The rides weren't open yet. It was peaceful and quiet. A nice change of pace. Still, he couldn't help but wonder where Touko could be. He had missed one call since then- turned off the Xtranceiver during the night and woken up to discover his friend had tried to contact him. There was no message. Just something to let him know she wasn't…well, dead. The call had traced back to somewhere above ground in the wilderness. He'd left the communication watch on constantly after that, but nothing else had come through. Friends were supposed to believe in friends, and so Martin had decided that Touko was definitely okay. He'd watched her battle on television before. She was brilliant at it and cared strongly about her pokemon. There was no way a few Steelix could've actually put an end to her…and there was no way she would have gone underground in the first place if she didn't think her companions could handle it.

"Martin!"

The boy's eyes snapped open. He felt his body go rigid. Hastily, he scanned the park area, seeking a human shape within the softly blurred world. There was nobody around but him except for a maintenance worker emptying a far-off garbage can. In the distance, the lights of Nimbasa City flickered.

_ Hearing things now. The doctor's going to love that, _he thought miserably, slumping back into himself and upsetting the pile of snow that had been accumulating on top of his hat. Then the voice came again, echoing from far down the cobblestone path. Louder.

"Martin!"

Martin suddenly felt the only pokeball on his belt begin to wriggle furiously. Startled, he opened his coat to see what could be the matter with Unfezant. He jerked his face away as a blinding flash of white hit him full in the eyes. The light spilled into the air and formed an avian outline, which quickly solidified into his red-masked pokemon. Unfezant gave a pleased trill and darted skywards, wings carrying him further down the pathway. Martin had gotten to his feet now and was staring after his pokemon.

"Unfezant, what are you-"

Then, over the slight rise in the land, something came running towards him at full tilt. A huge, orange, maned creature with somebody riding on its back. Unfezant descended slightly and circled around the pair with cries of what was presumably welcome.

Touko made quite an entrance.

The large creature on which she rode bounded down the pathway energetically, fanged mouth frozen in a dangerous-looking parody of a human grin. Silver air poured from its nose every time it heaved a breath. It was obviously very powerful- even with the weight of a human on its back, meters of ground were consumed by each lengthy stride. How long had they been running for?

From its back, Touko grinned madly and flailed her arms in a double-handed wave, like she hadn't seen him in…well, years.

Now that he saw her in sunlight, this was really the first time since her last Xtranceiver call that Martin got a good look at her. Her usual dark brown tresses, although longer than before, were still wavy and tossed into a casual ponytail with a few locks hanging free. The two pieces that always stuck up comically at the back of her head remained. She certainly didn't look as bedraggled as she had last Xtranceiver call. Even bundled into winter apparel (did leggings count as winter apparel, he wondered?), one could tell that she was a slender girl. A little bit taller than before; her facial features slightly more angular after two years of maturing. Alert and bright looking. Martin thought her pretty, in a platonic sort of way.

So why was anxiety knotting around inside of him? Two years was not really a long span of time- and yet, he felt an unwarranted, irrevocable sense of fear that Touko had done what every other person he'd ever known had done: grown up, grown cold, and left him behind. That wasn't the case; he knew from her grinning and waving that she was the same old Touko she'd always been. The feeling just wouldn't leave him. A cynicism borne from a lifetime of watching people his age and younger freeze themselves just to please mummy and daddy.

The dragons had expectations, after all.

Martin found that he could do nothing but watch, numb, as the friend he hadn't seen face-to-face in years leapt from her pokemon mid-run and flung herself at him in a mess of flying brown hair and scarf ends. Her arms formed a vice around his body that was possibly the most bone-crushing hug he'd ever experienced. Dazed, the boy stumbled back, rocked off his feet and collapsed gracelessly back onto the bench from which he'd just risen. His body gave a slight indication of pain. He ignored this. Blankly, the boy stared over his friend's shoulder at the frozen sky, trying to make sense of situation.

Warm.

He'd forgotten how warm people felt.

"I knew you'd still be here," Touko's laugh was nothing short of joyous. Her smile was the same paragon of happiness it had always been, even half-buried in the collar of his coat. This was same cheerful person from two years ago, here in the flesh, just like she'd promised. Martin's eyes flickered between her and empty space as the mind behind them labored over a decision. Reassured at last, his shock began to recede. Martin slowly smiled and hugged his friend back as the realization that she was really here dawned on him.

"I was really worried," his voice was quiet to start with, as usual. He found it easy to converse with Touko, which was why a grin followed and his voice gained some strength. His friend was about as kind and open-minded as they came. "Always nice to see you aren't dead."

The joke was genuine, however. He wasn't sure if she interpreted it that way. Touko made an amused sound and pulled away from him, shifting her weight to one hip and looking up at Martin with her smart blue-eyed stare. Yes, she was taller than before; but not quite tall enough once he'd gotten to his feet again.

"Hmpf, right. Like those Steelix even had a chance at beating the-" she struck a victory pose and proudly shouted "-_former Elite Four champion Touko!_"

Arcanine had long since caught up to her trainer and was now playing a peculiar game of tag with Unfezant in the background, rearing up onto her back paws and trying to nudge the bird with her nose as he flew past, crying raucously. Martin watched them and tried to sort out his brains- a jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings rather than some organic grey mass typically used for rational thinking. He didn't even notice when an eyebrow shot up in confusion.

"_Former _champion? Does that mean you were...?"

Touko giggled and resumed a normal stance, stuffing her mittened hands into her pockets.

"Beaten? Definitely. I don't know how Iris trains them, but her dragons are something else. But who cares about any of that- how've you been, Martin?"

It was strange for Martin to imagine his friend being defeated. He'd always thought of her as the strongest person he knew- and yet, the champion position hadn't been hers for even two years. Then again, he would know about how powerful dragons could be.

It seemed doubtful that Touko had wanted to remain in the League, anyways. The duty as champion sounded restricting and very unlike his ever-wandering friend. With a slight shake of his head, Martin felt himself relax further.

"Fine. I've been fine," he replied vaguely, unsure of how much to say. Medical conversations tended to bore or upset most people.

"What, no details?"

"The doctors still don't know what's wrong with me, if that's what you mean." The season spent in Nimbasa had yielded yet another few months of ultimately wasted effort. They were no closer to "curing" his weak immune system than they had been when he first came here. Martin's arms pressed tightly to his sides in an effort to retain heat. "I'm set to return home tomorrow…you got here at the last minute, I'm afraid."

Touko gave nothing away, but he could tell from her expression that she was frustrated with herself.

"Well…we've got a day left, at last," she eyeballed the maintenance worker, who was now making his way over to the ferris wheel, presumably to check if it was operational. As if the entire structure could deteriorate overnight. "But I'm sorry to hear about the doctors…you would think they'd have it figured out by now, wouldn't you?"

Martin had to agree that money was often a very good motivator; and large sums of money were at stake for his permanent soundness of health. But even heaps of dragon-gold couldn't create medical miracles where there were none to be found.

"I don't think there's a cure for weakness…" he mumbled quietly to himself, burrowing his nose under his scarf to protect it from the frost. Touko smiled kindly.

"You're not weak, Martin. Not in there-" she reached up and placed a fingertip on his forehead "-or there-" she stuck another finger at his chest "-so that's why I know that you'll keep going, no matter how sick you get."

Martin's face flushed, and he was suddenly grateful for the bright red fabric of his scarf. It made him look pasty in comparison. "I think that's my lung you're pointing to."

Touko laughed, shoulders shrugging. Martin smile faintly.

"Actually, I noticed that Unfezant looks a lot stronger than before. Have you been training him?" The girl inquired, shooting a backwards glance at the happily playing pokemon behind her. Unfezant was now perched atop Arcanine's head, preening the large creature's mane with his sharpened beak.

Martin pondered the question for a moment as he watched his partner from afar. He'd come to the ferris wheel to battle and ride with strangers on a daily basis two winters in a row now. Won some, lost some, tied up others. Had Unfezant made noticeable improvements from practicing one season a year? He'd never really had an actual "training session" before. There were no optimal training areas in Nimbasa City- and at home, his parents viewed the raising of pokemon for competition as needless trumpery.

Sensing he was being talked about, Unfezant lifted off from Arcanine's head with a noisy chop of his wings. He touched down gently onto Martin's shoulder, cocking his head with an fascinated _coo?_

"I suppose so," Martin said, observed his avian companion. Then, with a sudden change of attitude and a gleam in his eye, "think you're up to a battle?"

Touko grinned impishly at the determined look her friend now wore.

"I think my pokemon need a workout," she responded sweetly as Arcanine padded up beside her, lively with anticipation as she shifted from paw to paw.

Keeping their gazes glued on one another in silent understanding, the four began to drift apart, two to an end, until there was a decent amount of space between them. Battles were against city regulations anywhere else…but not in the amusement park. Here, they were encouraged.

Add that was another reason why Martin loved Nimbasa City.

The boy so commonly seen sitting quietly and looking run-down from illness was now incomparably vibrant. A smile played across his face, wavering like a shadow. He gave a mocking half bow.

"Ladies first."

Touko placed a hand on her chest as if emotionally touched by the gesture.

"Such chivalry."

Arcanine barked, the sound quickly snapped up by the frigid winter air and amplified, and charged forwards. Unfezant launched himself from his trainer's shoulder and soared high into the sky, silhouetted for one brilliant moment against the sun. It had stopped snowing, and the day's light grew stronger now.

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"

Martin knew what to expect from witnessing the last Xtranceiver call. Arcanine's back legs coiled, muscles like springs, and propelled the large creature off the ground. A jet of multi-orange fire burst from her mouth in a blazing stream Unfezant effortlessly angled his wings and banked clear of such a stationary attack, letting out a triumphant shriek as he did so and swooping back around for a counterstrike.

Neither of the two humans realized it; the atavistic transformations of their minds as they called out orders on nothing more than gut instinct and the analytical thought process that formulated tactical plans. As they battled, Touko forgot that she never did find that person she'd been searching for.

And Martin? Well, Martin forgot everything. His illness, his tyrannical parents; it all went away.

Somewhere in his subconscious, he wished the feeling could somehow stay just a little bit longer. He wished that he could battle more people- all sorts of people -, maybe see places like Chargestone Cave, or Lostlorn Forest, or any of the map destinations that Touko always talked about. There was a world outside the imprisoning walls of his mansion, and he wanted to see it. Badly.

This is the story of how it happened.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, here I am. Forcing myself to write fanfiction like back in the good old days.

I have no idea how to properly use indents in stories, so...educate me, pretty please?

Anyways, sorry for any potential spelling errors...leave behind a review telling me what you thought if you feel, or some constructive criticism ^^ That's always welcome. Huzzah- time for an adventure.

_Disclaimer: _"Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo (1995 - Present)". AKA; I don't own the concept of pokemon, its world, or any of its characters. And I'm not making money off this. I'm not that good. The cover art featured is also not mine.


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